Tatum O'Neal's son pens emotional essay on his mom's past drug use

Tatum O'Neal's son is opening up about the Oscar-winning actress' battle with addiction in an emotional, empathetic essay for Mother's Day.

Kevin McEnroe, whose parents are O'Neal and tennis player John McEnroe, published a vulnerable essay for The Small Bow on May 7 written in the form of a letter to his mom. In the piece, he said the "Paper Moon" star, 62, wasn't "always a mom" to him, and he described how difficult it was watching her deal with drug addiction. But he ultimately concluded by offering love and forgiveness.

McEnroe wrote to O'Neal that when he was a kid, "you were my mom, until your boyfriend gave you heroin," adding that she used to "leave in the middle of the night and sometimes not come back before morning."

"I don't care that one of my earliest memories was you sending me to buy your cigarettes, or that I used to throw away your drugs," he wrote. "I don't care that when I found a mirror, once, on your bathroom counter, your answer was I can do a line, if I want. ... I don't care that you had an overdose, again, which led to a stroke, and brain damage, and then tried to escape from the memory care facility, and then you drank. In a weird way I'm proud of you for that. That's when I knew you were still alive."

McEnroe told his mom that "I love you even though sometimes you make it hard," and he shared that about a year and a half ago, she was drinking and told him she wanted to kill herself. While he said she initially cursed him out, "then you called me and I helped you," and "You haven't had a drink since then, or a drug, and for that I’m proud of you. I've never really seen you, at anything, really try. But you do today."

McEnroe also reflected on his own substance abuse issues in the piece, noting that he used to abuse alcohol, cocaine and painkillers. "I almost drank myself to death, and you were almost at my funeral," he wrote. "I'm so lucky that I'm like you, because I get it now. Because I empathize I can forgive."

Later in the essay, he added, "I forgive you, and you forgive me, and we forgive others, because we have to. Otherwise we'd both be dead." He concluded by wishing O'Neal a happy Mother's Day and saying he is "proud" to be her son.

O'Neal, who at age 10 became the youngest person to win an Oscar for her supporting role in "Paper Moon," starring opposite dad Ryan O'Neal, has opened up about her substance abuse issues in the past. She was arrested for buying cocaine in New York in 2008 and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

In 2020, O'Neal had a near-fatal stroke after overdosing on morphine, opiates and pain medication. She was in a coma for six weeks. In a 2023 interview with People, she said she "almost died" and couldn't speak when she came out of the coma. The "Bad News Bears" star said at the time that she was in recovery and had spent two years working to regain her memory.

"I've been trying to get sober my whole life," O'Neal told People, noting she was an addict "pretty much on and off, for the past 30 to 40 years." McEnroe also told People his mom had "embraced this attempt at recovery," adding, "In the world of recovery, there can be a moment where you feel, like, 'I can't keep living this way.' And I think that is what finally occurred. Now I see an enormous amount of hope."

In his new essay, McEnroe told his mother that her stroke was "the best thing that ever happened to you, and us," because "you're alive today, which you most certainly wouldn't have been, and there’s some hope you might be tomorrow."

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental and/or substance use disorders, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's free and confidential treatment referral and information service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It's available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).